Aptitude assessments for students, who intend to study teaching, are not common in Germany. In general, every student, who holds a university-entrance diploma, is permitted to enter teacher training programs. (However, there are examination tests for candidates who would like to study art, sport, and music education.) There are no qualification examinations that test significant competencies for studying teaching, and so it is arguably the case that some or even many students are not fully qualified to become teachers. Relating to the relevance of aptitude assessments, the question arises as to which competencies are significant for teaching.

Competencies can be defined as “(…) the specialized knowledge one has acquired that support cognitive performance (…)” (Mayer, 2003, as cited in Klieme & Hartig, 2007, p. 17). In several research studies, specific competencies have been identified as being essential for studying teaching and teaching. The Austrian researcher Johannes Mayr (2012), for instance, investigates several predictors of probation for studying and teaching. He finds out that students, who choose the profession because they are intrinsically motivated, are more successful than other students. Furthermore, their interests are important predictors; especially social interests and job-specific interests, these are essential for success at university and school. Besides that, the personality dimensions conscientiousness and extraversion predict the students´ success; moreover, mastery of speech is identified as being significant. Other scientists emphasize the importance of social competencies, such as communication skills, empathy, or the capacity of teamwork (e.g., Liekam, 2004; Sliwka & Klopsch, 2012). Aptitude assessments should measure these competencies and personality dimensions. It should be tested whether trainee teachers feature the competencies that are needed and to what extent the competencies exist.

Some aptitude procedures for trainee teachers were developed, but most of them use the self-evaluation method (e.g., FIBEL – Self-Assessment at the University of Münster/Germany; CCT – Career Counselling for Teachers/Austria, Germany, and Switzerland). Since self-evaluation procedures are influenced by the social desirability bias, the information gained cannot be used for decision making. Therefore, an aptitude procedure that uses external evaluation is needed.

When developing a procedure, the three test quality criteria are of focus: objectivity, reliability and validity. Objectivity refers to the extent to which the test or scale results are independent from the test or scale users´ feelings or beliefs (e.g., Bortz & Döring, 2006, p. 195). According to Christensen (2004, pp. 182-184), reliability refers to consistency, stability, or the repeatability of test or scale results. The scientist also states that reliability is directly related to the amount of measurement error which refers to the inaccuracy that is introduced into the measurement. Validity is the third and most important test quality criterion. A test or scale can be claimed valid if it measures what it purports to measure (e.g., Borsboom, Mellenbergh & Van Heerden, 2004, p 1061). Scale validity evidence comes from a multitude of sources. Every validation process should include an examination of content, construct, factorial, and criterion-related validity. Another important aspect is to analyze cognitive processes of the candidates when answering scale items. Furthermore, context analyses have to be conducted in order to test the influence of personal, situational and cultural characteristics on the scale scores (e.g., Hechinger, in press).

The presentation gives an introduction into a new aptitude procedure. The methods that are used to assess the trainee teachers´ competencies will be presented. Furthermore, I will discuss the results of examining objectivity, reliability and validity. It should be noted that there are some other European countries, such as Finland, which have established aptitude assessment-centers for trainee teacher candidates. It is an international topic, and sharing ideas promotes the research object.

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